The reforms which Donald Trump included in an executive order he signed Tuesday to respond to the murder of George Floyd in police custody are inadequate to meet the needs of the situation which has spawned protests nationwide, according to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

As the concept of defunding police gets play in the national conversation as part of the police reform needed in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the issue is not just about taking dollars away from police departments, but rebalancing funding among a number of community needs which today are often starved for funding, according to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough, who originally tagged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as "MoscowMitch" over the Kentucky Republican's reluctance to defend US elections against further Russian interference, was back at taunting McConnell for his impending move to block police reform which would ban the sort of chokeholds which killed George Floyd in police custody.

Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, on Tuesday called on Congress to extend the unemployment benefit in recent coronavirus stimulus legislation that gives unemployed workers an additional $600 in weekly jobless benefits.

As she and other congressional Democrats rolled out a package of proposed police reforms in response to the May 25 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., police custody, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed the opportunities and challenges ahead in achieving real social change.

With the US unemployment rate unexpectedly dropping to 13.3 percent, from 14.7 percent, "now is the worst possible moment to take our foot off the gas," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi advised, calling for swift Senate approval and passage into law for the HEROES Act which the House approved last month.

After Donald Trump had peaceful protesters cleared outside of White House Monday, so that he could take the short walk to St John's Church to hold up a Bible in what emerged as an awkward photo opportunity to try to project strength in the face of national protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with reporters to hold a Bible of her own and ask Trump to help heal the nation in the way that his predecessors have in times of social unrest.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden acknowledged that the work of ending racism and police violence won't be quick. But it could certainly begin now, even before he has a chance to be elected president by passing existing police reform legislation to prevent any future incidents such as last week's murder of African American George Floyd by a white officer in Minneapolis, Biden said.

Rep Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, introduced H.R. 6918, the Paycheck Recovery Act Tuesday, which would deliver working people immediate relief and certainty while aiming to match the scale of the current public health and economic crisis.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) Joseph Cuffari will conduct a review of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) efforts to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in its facilities.